[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Llarry

I don't intend to post an F-4 Phantom photo every Phriday, but this one is too good to pass up. An F-4J of VF-161 "Chargers" based on USS Midway in 1980 and homeported in Japan.

The Midway and sister carrier Coral Sea were considered too small to have F-14 Tomcats, so kept F-4s longer than the larger ships. In the 1980s, their F-4s were finally retired and they got F-18s for a few years until their retirement.

Great paint job on this one! The good old days.

This one's for you Llarry: the Turkish Air Force (also part of NATO) having a field day at the Mach Loop with their F-4 Phantoms.

They clearly know they're being filmed and photographed and so they parade and salute the plane spotters. Cool.

Note: the pilot flying the plane featuring the impressive Turkish flag design is told to be base commander and his RIO is Air Force Commander (4-star General in his 60s).

More:

[M-technik-3]

Man leave it to those abroad to allow people that close to a runway.

[Llarry]

Tomcat Thursday with a TOPGUN F-14A! The Naval Strike Air Warfare Center in Fallon, Nevada, is not a large unit in terms of assigned aircraft, but they did have a few F-14s back in the day. Here's one in desert paint.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Artemis

This one's for you Llarry: the Turkish Air Force (also part of NATO) having a field day at the Mach Loop with their F-4 Phantoms.

Very impressive display -- thanks! According to Flight Global's 2024 listing of world air forces, the Turkish Air Force has 48 F-4s left in service. I believe they are extensively updated, too, and so quite capable.

Since the USA decided against supplying F-35As, that may leave Turkey in a bit of a bind on a replacement. Time will tell.

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Since the USA decided against supplying F-35As, that may leave Turkey in a bit of a bind on a replacement. Time will tell.

Despite being a NATO partner, Erdogan is pretty chummy with Putin. He might just go for the Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-75_Checkmate

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Very impressive display -- thanks! According to Flight Global's 2024 listing of world air forces, the Turkish Air Force has 48 F-4s left in service. I believe they are extensively updated, too, and so quite capable.

Different camera. The skilled Turkish pilots gave the photographers a private show.

[Llarry]

The combat aircraft produced in the largest numbers in history is the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 Stormovik of World War II. 36,183 were built. A bit like the USAF's A-10 Warthog of the 1970s to date, the Il-2 was designed for close air support of army troops in combat.

The Il-2 was designed as a "winged tank" with an integrated armored shell protecting critical components like the crew and fuel and oil tanks. While an air-cooled engine would have better survivability, the Soviet Union lacked a powerful enough engine for the Il-2, so a liquid-cooled V-12 engine of 1,360 hp was selected for the prototype.

The first flight came in October of 1939. By 1940, the design had morphed into a single seat attack aircraft with four 7.62mm machine guns and provisions for bombs. A more powerful 1,600 hp engine was fitted, increasing speed. The emphasis was on low-altitude performance.

The Il-2 finally started coming off factory production lines in March of 1941. By the time that Nazi Germany invaded the USSR in June of that year, 249 aircraft had been delivered. The armament was changed to a pair of 23mm cannon and two machine guns; small bombs could be carried and soon rocket launchers were installed under the wings.

An early problem was the lack of a rear-firing gun (and gunner) to protect against German fighter attacks. Il-2 units suffered heavy losses to enemy fighters. A few were hastily modified with a rear gunner's position and gun, but the real solution came in 1942 with the introduction of the Il-2M, redesigned to incorporate a rear gunner with armor protection and a 12.7mm machine gun. German Luftwaffe fighter pilots -- used to easy pickings -- took heavy losses when they first encountered Il-2s with rear gunners.

Late 1942 brought further changes to the aircraft and the revised versions were referred to as IL-2 Type 3s. By this time, the IL-2 was the most numerically important aircraft in the Red Air Force.

To improve the Il-2's ability to destroy enemy tanks, some aircraft were modified with 37mm cannon in the wings; these were designated Type 3Ms.

Mid-war, Ilyushin started work on a replacement for the Il-2. The new airplane was to have better armor protection, more power and improved handling. The overall layout and appearance were quite similar, and the resulting Il-10 first flew in April of 1944. Production IL-10s started coming off the lines in late 1944. By now the gun armament was increased to four forward firing 23mm cannon and a 12.7mm machine gun for the rear gunner.

The Il-10 stayed in production until 1954 and almost 5,000 were built. Il-10s were encountered in the Korean War (1950-53) and by now the airplane had been assigned the NATO codename Beast. Despite its obvious obsolescence the IL-10 remained in service in Warsaw Pact air forces until around 1960.

[JJ 911SC]

Québec CL-415 in L.A.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...ebec-1.7426753

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadair_CL-415

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

Québec CL-415 in L.A.

I hope that Los Angeles took out the extra damage insurance when they rented these planes, since one took a drone strike and is allegedly grounded until Tuesday for repairs to its wing.....

[M-technik-3]

JeJu Airline update, Black box stopped recording data 4 minutes prior to crash say ROK officials and NTSB as they looked at the data as well afterwards.

[flybigjet]

Shack.

Fully qualified back into the left seat.

Qual leg was LAX-LAS. 45 min takeoff to touchdown. Running late due to being late CUN-LAX. Weight and balance issue on taxi-out, takeoff data issues. ATC kept us high and fast to a slam dunk. Black hole runway. Gusty winds.

It's *always* the check ride leg innit?

R.

[vreihen16]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!

[Llarry]

I'm always up for a good Phantom photo...

Here's an F-4B of VF-84 "Jolly Rogers" back in the 1960s. 600-gallon external fuel tank on the centerline and a (1,000?) pound bomb on each wing pylon.

[Lady Jane]

Nerves of steel...!

[Llarry]

And here's the real thing: A Danish MH-60R landing on a frigate in rough seas. Talk about nerves of steel!

And this is not the whole picture, either -- once on deck, the helicopter is vulnerable to sliding off. There was a case some years ago when a U.S. Navy destroyer had an H-60 on deck and made a tight high-speed turn. The helicopter and all aircrew slid over the side and were lost. This is why the Candian Beartrap system that stabilizes the helo on the deck is so valuable. The flight is not over until the helicopter's rotor is no longer turning and the aircraft is in the hangar or securely tied down.

[T0RM3NT]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

Shack.

Fully qualified back into the left seat.

Qual leg was LAX-LAS. 45 min takeoff to touchdown. Running late due to being late CUN-LAX. Weight and balance issue on taxi-out, takeoff data issues. ATC kept us high and fast to a slam dunk. Black hole runway. Gusty winds.

It's *always* the check ride leg innit?

R.

Congratulations 👏